2 ms·

Exact opposite. I ask them to please not bring me a mashed vegetables patty and call it a burger. It is not. The idea of a lettuce tomato onion burger stack

Exact opposite. I ask them to please not bring me a mashed vegetables patty and call it a burger. It is not. The idea of a lettuce tomato onion burger stack on a bun is that there's a taste and texture contrast between the stack of vegetables and something that's not another stack of vegetables but mashed. (Doesn't mean it has to be Beyond or Impossible, see last para.) I suspect displacement happened because folks paying $25 for a "burger" when out are less interested in the garden mash, want something a little edgier. FWIW, before Beyond and Impossible, at any restaurant or diner where I took time to explain the difference in alt-burger types, they were willing to try ones I mention below, and they reported customers preferred it. In many, someone had just told them "have a vegetarian burger" and they just got the mashed veggies patty or mashed beans cake since that's what most products are. Not being vegetarian themselves, they weren't aware of other availability. By contrast, Impossible and Beyond essentially went door to door "educating" them, so they switched. While Impossible and Beyond displaced the meat alternatives, that doesn't mean you have to go meat in a vat at home, you can do products such as Morningstar Farms Grillers Original, or maybe Boca All-American Flame-Grilled Burger. Those taste stack more reasonably with what goes on a burger than the mashed vegetables patties, without the weirdness (fake blood look, why?) of Impossible or Beyond. Your local diner will probably be happy to stock them as they're simple frozen goods.

phreeza 4y ago
I agree, another good meat alternative that has sufficient contrast in taste for me is fried Halloumi cheese.
mattarm 4y ago
> Exact opposite. I ask them to please not bring me a mashed vegetables patty and call it a burger. It is not. I can agree that "mashed vegetables" does not describe a good veggie patty. I don't agree that a good veggie patty fails in "burger" format. I can easily imagine that some people have simply never tasted a good veggie patty in "burger" format, because they are rare. This is the root of most "meat alternatives" in average restaurants -- much of the restaurant world hasn't figured out that providing vegetarian options isn't about finding equivalent "meat replacements" but instead about cooking up options that stand on their own and taste great. > While Impossible and Beyond displaced the meat alternatives In my experience the "meat alternative" patties have not displaced the good veggie patties in the restaurants that had good veggie patties to begin with. > ...that doesn't mean you have to go meat in a vat at home, you can do products such as Morningstar Farms Grillers Original, or maybe Boca All-American Flame-Grilled Burger. Those taste stack more reasonably with what goes on a burger than the mashed vegetables patties, without the weirdness (fake blood look, why?) of Impossible or Beyond. Your local diner will probably be happy to stock them as they're simple frozen goods. A beef burger patty has the wonderful property that it is simply made of meat -- a good beef patty has no ingredient lists because it isn't a packaged food. A good veggie patty is also made on site of simple whole foods, in the same way a good burger is and in the same way any other good meal is. Any frozen puck taken from a bag and slapped on a grill fails the test, be it comprised mostly of beef, soy, beans, "beyond beef", wheat, or whatever. Those things are about convenience, not taste.

phreeza 4y ago

I agree, another good meat alternative that has sufficient contrast in taste for me is fried Halloumi cheese.

mattarm 4y ago

> Exact opposite. I ask them to please not bring me a mashed vegetables patty and call it a burger. It is not. I can agree that "mashed vegetables" does not describe a good veggie patty. I don't agree that a good veggie patty fails in "burger" format. I can easily imagine that some people have simply never tasted a good veggie patty in "burger" format, because they are rare. This is the root of most "meat alternatives" in average restaurants -- much of the restaurant world hasn't figured out that providing vegetarian options isn't about finding equivalent "meat replacements" but instead about cooking up options that stand on their own and taste great. > While Impossible and Beyond displaced the meat alternatives In my experience the "meat alternative" patties have not displaced the good veggie patties in the restaurants that had good veggie patties to begin with. > ...that doesn't mean you have to go meat in a vat at home, you can do products such as Morningstar Farms Grillers Original, or maybe Boca All-American Flame-Grilled Burger. Those taste stack more reasonably with what goes on a burger than the mashed vegetables patties, without the weirdness (fake blood look, why?) of Impossible or Beyond. Your local diner will probably be happy to stock them as they're simple frozen goods. A beef burger patty has the wonderful property that it is simply made of meat -- a good beef patty has no ingredient lists because it isn't a packaged food. A good veggie patty is also made on site of simple whole foods, in the same way a good burger is and in the same way any other good meal is. Any frozen puck taken from a bag and slapped on a grill fails the test, be it comprised mostly of beef, soy, beans, "beyond beef", wheat, or whatever. Those things are about convenience, not taste.